2011 Introduction to Podcasting Part 2: Recording Your Podcast Adam Read University College Plymouth St Mark & St John 10/Jan/2011
About this guide This is part 2 in the elearning essentials: Introduction to Podcasting series. Part 2 focuses on the equipment and software required to record and edit a podcast. Note: If you have already installed Audacity and/or recorded some content, skip to the editing section. If you don t need to edit your recording but want to make it immediately available to your students, please see the Introduction to Podcasting Part 3. Equipment and Recording Tips» What Equipment Do You Need? The equipment required to capture the content for your podcast will vary depending on what you are trying to record. Use the table below as a starting point to work out what you might need. What are you podcasting? Basic [Audio Only] Enhanced [Audio & Video] Optional Extras Lecture or Presentation Pocket audio recorder Tie-clip microphone Screen capture (screencast) Video camera Discussion or Interview Audio recorder One or more video cameras External mic for better clarity or more people Post/Pre- Lecture/Seminar Recording Headset Microphone PC or Laptop Audacity Screen capture (screencast) Webcam The University College has a modest amount of equipment available for staff and student use, which can be signed out through Computing & Media Services. If you are still unsure which equipment would best suit your needs, or would like to find out more about some of the items listed above (e.g. screencast software), then please contact Adam Read, e-learning Technologist. Podcast Guide: Part 3 Adam Read Page 1
» Recording Do s and Don ts Bear the following suggestions in mind when preparing to record your podcast material(s): 1. Do always ask for permission to record/share any interviews or discussions containing other people (e.g. students or colleagues) and don t share content without consent. 2. Do consider repeating any student questions (asked during a recorded lecture), so that the question and corresponding answer is audible in the final podcast. 3. For pre/post lecture materials do work out a rough outline of what you want to include so that you don t go off topic (and therefore keep the recording concise). However, if possible don t directly read from a script as this can make the podcast somewhat monotonous! 4. Do, where possible, check the sound quality before recording the entire podcast. It is much easier to make changes to the setup/equipment before you start than it is to remove hiss or unwanted noise from a recorded track. 5. Do be aware of Copyright licences that restrict the use of audio/video media in podcasts. Don t be tempted to include a music track for your favourite album, instead, look for Creative Commons materials which you can generally include without issue, as long as you remember to attribute the author. 6. Do find the best environment to record your podcast. Scout around for the quietest rooms or select a room with good natural light if you re filming. 7. Do consider recording two-takes of an interview to make sure you ve captured the best sound. Remember, focus on recording your interviewee you can always re-record your questions later. 8. Do consider chopping-up hour long chunks of recordings into smaller, more manageable episodes. These will be easier to edit and more useful for students. Editing Software: What is Audacity? Audacity is a free, open-source, audio recording and editing package. You can download Audacity on to any PC or MAC and use it to create new audio recordings (with a PC microphone) or to import and edit pre-made recordings. It supports multi-track recordings, so you can combine narrated voice with background music tracks and sound effects. You can also (by installing a special plug-in known as LAME ) export your masterpieces in MP3 format, a cross-platform file format which plays on most PCs or mobile devices. The following section explains how to install Audacity and the LAME MP3 plug-in. Page 2 Adam Read Podcast Guide: Part 3
Editing Software: Audacity Software Setup» Step 1 [Downloading] First we need to download Audacity. Either use a search engine to look for Audacity or navigate your web browser to http://audacity.sourceforge.net/. Download the latest version. Note: sometimes beta versions contain bugs which can lead to problems. It is up to you whether you use the beta versions or not. If you experience problems with the software try using a non-beta version. On the download page, click the installer link. Depending on which web browser you re using, you may need to authorise the download by clicking on the yellow bar at the top of the page, and selecting Download File : Podcast Guide: Part 3 Adam Read Page 3
» Step 2 [Installing] When the download box pops-up click run. At any security warnings allow the installer to run or continue (this message is different when using a Vista/Windows 7 machine). Follow the on-screen instructions to install Audacity. Note: the default settings should be fine for most users, so you should be able to click next for most messages. Although Audacity is now installed and ready to use, you need to carry out one more step before you can produce MP3 files (this is the LAME MP3 plug-in we mentioned earlier). Page 4 Adam Read Podcast Guide: Part 3
» Step 3 [LAME MP3 Plug-in] Audacity needs a plug-in called LAME in order to support MP3 file formats (which you ll be using for audio podcasts). You can download the Lame MP3 encoder via links from the Audacity website (http://audacity.sourceforge.net > Help > FAQs > How do I download and install the LAME MP3 encoder?). Or alternatively Google audacity lame mp3 encoder and follow the links to the download page. These paths should eventually direct you to the download page for the MP3 encoder - http://lame.buanzo.com.ar. Click the for Audacity on Windows link and start the download by pressing the save button when prompted. Save the zip file on your desktop or somewhere you have easy access to: Open the zip file (you can double-click it!) and locate the lame_enc.dll file. Drag or extract this file to your desktop. Once you have the MP3 encoder on your desktop it s up to you where you store it. You can leave it on the desktop or move it to another folder wherever you put it you ll need to leave it there until you no longer use Audacity. We suggest you copy it to your C drive. Podcast Guide: Part 3 Adam Read Page 5
Load up Audacity and create an audio track by clicking the record, then stop buttons. This creates a short audio track. Don t worry if it has no sound, it s not important at this stage! Click file then export as MP3. Page 6 Adam Read Podcast Guide: Part 3
Call your file anything you like (i just used test ) and save it somewhere easy to find you ll want to delete this file later as it s not needed. I chose the desktop: Audacity will ask you to locate the Lame MP3 encoder click YES! Browse and locate your lame_enc.dll file. I kept mine on the desktop for easy access but it s wise to store it somewhere where you won t accidentally delete it! Click open once you ve selected the file. Podcast Guide: Part 3 Adam Read Page 7
That s it you re done! You only need to locate the Lame MP3 encoder once. Audacity will always remember where you stored it, unless you remove it later. You ll have to re-download the encoder and re-link Audacity to it should you delete it. You re now ready to use Audacity to produce MP3 podcasts. Page 8 Adam Read Podcast Guide: Part 3
Recording and Editing Using Audacity This section describes the basic functions of Audacity. The best way to improve your recording/editing skills is simply to try things out. Have a play, that s why they included the Edit > Undo command! The steps below start by recording content directly into Audacity. You might do this to record post/pre session podcasts. The later steps focus on basic editing, which you might decide to do should you record an interview or lecture.» Step 1 [Recording Audio] Load-up Audacity. With your microphone headset (or a webcam) set up and working click the record button on the control panel. Say something! Audacity should generate a visual sound wave representing your voice (the louder you speak, the larger the size of the waveform ). Click stop once you ve got a short piece of audio. That s it. You ve recorded your first piece of audio! You can listen to your recording using the play / rewind buttons on the control panel. Now, if you narrated something perfectly you could save your recording as an MP3 and upload it to LearningSpace. However, more often than not you ll have made some mistakes or want to add additional components.» Step 2 [Recording More Audio] To add another piece of audio, click on the point of the track where you wish to record from. To do this you ll need to use the selection tool. Once you click somewhere on the track, Audacity will insert a time line to indicate the position you selected. Once you re happy with the location, use the same steps as before record (click record to start speak then click stop!). Note: Muting pre-recorded tracks might be useful when recording additional materials otherwise they can be heard at the same time you re recording something else (very distracting!). Podcast Guide: Part 3 Adam Read Page 9
» Step 3 [The Time Shift Tool] It s very easy to move your new audio track. Simply select the Time Shift tool and drag the sound wave up or down the time line. You can use the play/pause/stop controls to listen all of the tracks together, or mute tracks with the mute button. To delete an audio track, click the X button. Page 10 Adam Read Podcast Guide: Part 3
» Step 4 [Deleting Audio] You can use the Selection Tool to edit a specific part of an audio track. Simply click and drag to highlight the part of the waveform that you wish to remove. You can then delete (click the delete key on your keyboard) or apply effects to that selection only. Select the quiet part (represented as a thin wave) at the start of your recording and press the delete button on your keyboard. Having a long delay at the start of your podcast makes it sound like you don t know what you re doing! This removes the unwanted piece of audio. Note: Audacity will automatically shift the sound wave along to fill the gap. To simply silence a selection (rather than deleting it) you can click Generate > Silence from the command menu. This will not shift your audio track which means it s very useful for dubbing out verbal tics. Podcast Guide: Part 3 Adam Read Page 11
» Step 5 [Fading In and Out] One of the most useful effects is the Fade tool. Select the very beginning of your sound wave. Take care not to select too much of the audio. From the command menu, click Effect > Fade In. This will gradually fade in the audio rather than it suddenly starting. The Fade Out effect works the same way and should be applied to the end of audio tracks.» Step 6 [Importing Audio Tracks] You can also import other sound files into your current project. This is particularly useful when you want to incorporate fancy sound effects or background music. Simply click Project > Import Audio and select the file you wish to import. Audacity will add it as a new audio track so you might need to use the Time Shift tool to change its location. Page 12 Adam Read Podcast Guide: Part 3
» Step 7 [Saving Your Recording] Once you re happy with your project you need to save it. This is a 2 stage process. Firstly to save the entire project so that it can be opened and edited again, click File > Save Project. This saves the project as a.aup file which can only be opened in Audacity. That s exactly what we want! However, we also need to export the project as an MP3 file, which we ll upload as our podcast. To do this, click the File > Export as MP3 option from the menu. Note: You ll need to follow the lame MP3 encoder steps from earlier to enable MP3 functionality. Click Ok when the following message appears (this appears if you used more than one audio track in your recording). You can then export your recording as an MP3 file (you ll need to choose a filename/location). You may also prompted to fill in some ID3 metadata (such as genre, album, year etc.). This is basic information that is attached to the MP3 recording and can be read by portable media players. That s everything you need to know to use the basic features of Audacity to record and edit a podcast. Feel free to try out its other features. For help making your podcasts available to students please see the Intro to Podcasting Part 3. Podcast Guide: Part 3 Adam Read Page 13